Stakeholder dialogue

Dialogue with stakeholders

The DMK GROUP maintains a respectful and open dialogue with a variety of stakeholder groups and adopts new ideas. Some stakeholders have close links with DMK – the dairy farmers, employees and customers, for example. Other groups also express desires and expectations from, for example media and consumer protection organisations. We take stakeholders' concerns seriously and are open in the exchange of ideas. One example is the annual stakeholder survey after the combined annual report and sustainability report is published. Other formats for dialogue are also maintained, e.g. small group discussions, panel discussions and participation in round tables.

Stakeholder survey 2017

“Agricultural production is facing completely new operating conditions. Capitalising on higher sustainability standards is a joint challenge for producers, consumers, the energy industry, politicians and also food retailers, and essentially requires sustainability to be quantifiable. DMK’s Milkmaster Programme is a good example of how the concept of sustainability can be made measurable and transparent on the company level. We are glad of the close working relationship with DMK, whose contribution to sustainable value added also helps in the conservation of grassland regions.”

Our annual stakeholder survey focuses on the opinions of our internal and external stakeholders; these include our milk producers and employees, business partners, media, consumers, and representatives from associations, politics, and business. The 2015 stakeholder survey supported the materiality assessment required for GRI-G4 and flagged various aspects for the report. The topics of milk production, current developments in the milk industry, resource consumption, and DMK as an employer are of particular relevance to stakeholders (see Integrated Report 2015, p. 18-21).

In the annual surveys, stakeholders were asked on several occasions for assessments of the material topics; the results were used for the update of DMK 2020 among other purposes.

The GRI Standard as a guideline

Since 2012, DMK has produced reports according to the standard set by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which provides a binding framework for sustainability reporting which stakeholders take as a guide. GRI can also be used for combined annual reports and sustainability reports. In past years, DMK reported on the basis of the GRI-G3 Standard. The GRI-G4 Standard was used in the 2015 combined report, which was published in June 2016. Materiality is the focus here: what sustainability topics are particularly important within the company and the dairy industry? Our stakeholder surveys for 2015 and 2016 formed part of the basis of this analysis. As of the 2017 report, the new GRI Standards are being used. You can find the GRI Content Index for 2017 here.

Our memberships and alliances

An important element of our stakeholder engagement is memberships and alliances. DMK has been active in some very different organisations for many years, more than 100 to an up-to-date review. They include regional, nationwide and international organisations, associations relating to the food industry, farm animal welfare and agriculture and renowned research institutes. DMK contributes its skills and experience to these memberships and benefits from the exchange of views and information and active participation in the further development of important industry topics. You will find an overview of our current memberships and alliances here.

DMK's awards and distinctions

We have been highly delighted to receive the various awards and distinctions that have repeatedly been conferred on us. Quality is an example: for years now, our Group has held a leading position in the top ten of the best producers of milk and dairy products. DMK has been honoured with the European Dairy Award for the best overall business performance in the DLG dairy product quality tests. This is the leading quality award in the food industry. In 2017, DMK received 304 DLG medals. In addition, we were the winner for our industry in the Top National Employer awards and were awarded the distinction of "Green Company". In 2017, DMK was awarded Gold status from EcoVadis or its sustainable services. DMK GROUP‘s services were first audited, analysed and assessed by EcoVadis in the area of sustainability in spring 2016 – with a very good result in the Benchmark and a silver award. Based on this year’s audit, we have now moved up to Gold status. EcoVadis operates a recognised international platform providing sustainable assessments for global supply chains and is used by manufacturers and processing companies worldwide. In 2017, DMK was honoured in the German Awards for Excellence in the category of "Energy Efficiency“.